


Hypnotic

by lovinglybreex



Category: New Teen Titans, Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types, Teen Titans Go!
Genre: Carnival, F/M, Friendship, Tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29270925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovinglybreex/pseuds/lovinglybreex
Summary: Spinning lights and flashing signs illuminated the dark October sky; the cacophony of the warm electrical whir and buzz, animated chatter and calliope music deafening, but not unpleasant. A carnival. And Beast Boy and Raven find themselves alone.
Relationships: Garfield Logan/Raven
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	Hypnotic

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request by a reader on Fanfiction.net that I wrote as a one-shot. Struggling with serious writers block for a while now and found this again going through some drafts. I wasn't even the biggest fan of this piece when I originally posted it and now I'm starting to feel like I cant write anything equal to it. Irony, right?

**Hypnotic**

* * *

' _Rae-venn_ ,' came a sing-song voice from the hallway, swiftly followed by a blur of lean green limbs and a megawatt grin that paused in the threshold of her doorway. 'Ready to go?'

Despite the two emerald eyes burning into her skin as she levitated, legs crossed, half a foot or so above the perfectly pressed lilac sheets of her bed spread, Raven didn't even bother to look up as she responded dryly, 'Depends. Where?'

'Dunno, Star seems pretty excited tho-'

'Team building. Compulsory.' Robin's voice interrupted in an authoritative tone from the communicators clipped to the belt loops of their jeans, slightly distorted by the enthusiastic squeal that undoubtedly came from the only other female member of the team. 'Join us in the T-car when you're ready.'

Beastboy's delicately muscled shoulders rolled in an offhanded shrug; a half-hearted smirk graced his lips. He lunged forward, tugged sharply on a loose strand of purple hair, and transformed. Knowing he was already gone, the girl smiled freely and opened her eyes to glimpse the tip of a large, green falcon-wing sweeping out her door. 

* * *

Spinning lights and flashing signs illuminated the dark October sky; the cacophony of the warm electrical whir and buzz, animated chatter and calliope music deafening, but not unpleasant. A carnival.

Though it would be highly uncharacteristic for Raven to say something so sincere out loud, these were by far her favourite kind of Robin's teambuilding exercises, though she knew they were mostly just to pacify Star. It was nice, to just spend time together – as friends, not just teammates. Human moments, as far from human as their group really were. She opened her mouth to make some quip but quickly shut it again once she caught sight of their team leader staring wistfully towards the acrobat tent. Unable to place the expression, she turned to observe the rest of her friends.

Garfield and Victor stood to her left, the LED glow casting a peculiar shadow over their corresponding green and metallic tones. They chatted animatedly amongst themselves, words blurring together so it was almost impossible for the others to understand them in their excitement. Raven thought she heard them say something about the food – _typical_ , she thought, not without a smile. To her right, Starfire, previously the most ecstatic of the group, had also noticed the former boy wonder's subdued expression, and warmth pooled in Raven's stomach as she watched her take his hand as they weaved through the carnie stalls.

* * *

A few hours passed before a giggling, cotton candy and popcorn fuelled Tamaranian dragged their team leader towards the Ferris wheel and with a flash of glowing pink, the two disappeared for the rest of the night. Not long after that, a particularly nauseated cyborg fled the 'flying saucer' attraction at a considerable pace, the laughter-induced stitches in his friend's sides preventing them from catching up to him before a notably attractive blonde they had previously seen on the bumper cars rushed to his aid.

'Go on Cy.' Laughed Beastboy, adding an exaggerated wolf-whistle to the effect of a lightly suppressed chuckle and an eye roll from his remaining teammate. 'Guess it's just me and you, mama!' He slung one arm around her shoulders – and neither one of them seemed to notice that it remained there as they continued to dawdle through the brightly coloured landscape in a predominantly one-sided conversation.

* * *

'Hey, look at that!' The sudden exclamation roused Raven, who hadn't previously been paying much attention to her friend's babble, from her thoughts. She followed his line of sight to where a small, dark blue tent nestled amongst some wooden crates and hay bales, secluded from the vibrant colours and hubbub of elsewhere. It was adorned with a string of simple fairy lights which gently glimmered and flickered like constellations in the night sky against their muted background; the heady scent of incense wafting through the air. Raven found herself instantly captivated by it. But then she spotted something that flood every sixth sense of her body with an undeniable foreboding. Before she had the chance to protest, however, the teen found herself being dragged forward by the green thumb and forefinger that encased her wrist, past the ornate, hand-painted sign that read 'see the _world's greatest hypnotist_ , in person!', and into the stands. 'Hello? _Mad mod_?' she hissed into his pointed ear, but although the apparently frail, hiccupping elderly man on the platform before them did little to relax her posture or ease her apprehension, as she looked up at Garfield's eager expression - she found she no longer wanted to leave.

Resigning herself to what was undoubtedly a trap, or a hoax, Raven was momentarily relieved that she had, for once, left her signature cloak back at the tower and joined the others in wearing 'ordinary' clothing for the night. Then, she remembered that the boy to her left was in fact a vibrant shade of green. _Subtle_. She scrutinised the 'hypnotist' with her typical poker face as he rose from the rickety wooden stool, centre stage, and began to address his audience (which consisted of merely two other couples, a small family of three, and a solitary elderly woman – presumably his wife) The show began uneventfully, a brief disclaimer, a well-rehearsed spiel – then, just as Raven began to shake her paranoia away, he asked for volunteers. 'You there,' he called, pointing. 'I think we'd all be lying if we said you hadn't caught our attention.'

Beastboy felt her entire body go rigid beside him. 'Don't worry Rae-Rae, nothing's going to happen to _us_.' He hopped from his seat with his usual charismatic beam, acting out an exuberant mock-bow as he reached the stage. Raven shadowed closely, now glaring at the hypnotist through narrowed eyes, which he paid no attention to. 'Perfect!' The pair silently followed his instructions, first following the swinging of his medallion as he narrated in a flat, even tone, then turning to face each other and maintain eye contact for what began to feel an uncomfortable amount of time. The hypnotist was still mumbling, though neither of the pair were quite sure if it was just a whisper or if they could just no longer focus on the sound. Gar shifted his weight from foot to foot, praying the dim lighting was enough to conceal the warmth of his cheeks, wandering what his fellow teammate was thinking as she held his gaze.

He heard her heart begin to beat faster and frowned slightly, was she still worried that this could be another of mad mod's schemes?

* * *

'You are both going to do exactly as the other says for the next 24 hours.' The old man's voice snapped back into focus. The pair raised an eyebrow in unison. Raven almost laughed.

'Jump?'

'How high?' she quipped, but her feet had already left the ground.

* * *

'd'ya reckon' this is really going to last 24 hours.' The chaos of the carnival was beginning to die down as the day drew to a close, but the flashing lights all around still outshone the stars emerging above, casting multi-coloured hues over the green-skinned shapeshifter and the telekinetic empath sat on the hay bale beside him. He felt her shoulders lift in a shrug.

'Turn into a cat.' Raven looked down to see a green Bombay cat rub it's head up against her side, automatically reached out to ruffle it's fur and sighed, 'Looks like it's still working now anyway.'

The cat briefly flicked its tail across her nose in response; transforming back into Beastboy to laugh at Raven's scrunched up features as she batted at the now empty space in front of her. She blinked heavily a few times before regaining her composure to glare at him through upturned, amethyst eyes that left him inexplicably breathless. Time seemed to slow down, a steady stream of adrenaline beginning to flow through his veins as though he was preparing for battle, despite the stillness and tranquillity of the air around them. He was vaguely aware of his gaze flickering down to her plum-painted lips, the soft curve of her full bottom lip and indent of her cupids bow…the seconds caught up with themselves. He stuck his tongue out in a boyish manner.

Obviously, this would be a completely wasted opportunity if he didn't do anything to get under Raven's skin, the remaining question only being what. Have her ride to the top of the Ferris wheel to scream out ' _Beastboy is the greatest!_ '?, Buy him the original copy of 'Teen Titans' for his refurbished Gameboy Advance? Make her wear a clown outfit for the rest of the night? Inflatable shoes; rainbow wig and all? Eat dirt? His eyebrows knotted together in concentration as he stared his friend down, scheming all the while. Complete all his chores for the wee- no, she could get herself out of that. Tidy his room?... _potentially a smart option_.

A huff of warm breath surpassed the soon-to-be changeling's lips. As much as he loved to infuriate and bicker with their resident half-demon, he was constantly cautious of overstepping the unseen line; waiting for her to shove him away with a flick of dark energy or vanish through a swirling doorway. Tonight there was no cut-off point.

What if he crossed a boundary and sabotaged whatever little tolerance Raven had for him?

The girl in question, abruptly jumped up, effectively cutting him off from his musings - for the moment.

'I'm bored.' she said, in response to his startled expression, and drifted off. He followed.

* * *

Raven's wandering had led them to the pier. She had, in fact, been looking for the rest of their group (in order to help herself suppress the lapse in her perfectly composed façade that she could feel bubbling dangerously this evening). However, in the hubbub of pulsating lights and the dense throng of people she had been unable to spot the tell-tale glint of Cyborg's metal or the flame-like flare of Starfire's hair. So, here they were. Side-by side, moon-cast shadows behind them and legs dangling above the smooth black water below. The boy, a gentle weight against her, hadn't said a single word since his previous question outside the tent, and the silence – giving her too much time to think, was beginning to make for an uneasy atmosphere.

It was true, that ever since Trigon's defeat Raven had been able to express her emotions – safely – much more easily. She knew her friends enjoyed her being more open, but she also knew, beneath her control, was a tenfold increase of power, and this – terrified her. What terrified her more, to the point of being a tangible flutter of wings in her stomach, was being here. With _him_. Alone. This, for whatever reason, made things quantifiably harder to keep control. Moreover, she didn't want to. She watched him carefully out of the corner of her eye, noting the solitary fang gutting out of the corner of his lips where he held his tongue in concentration; fleetingly wondering what had managed to hold his typically short attention span for so long – knowing if she asked now, he could only give her the truth.

But she said nothing.

Her eyes flickered shut; for a moment focusing only on the warmth where their legs pressed against each other, allowing the last of her flimsy charade to melt away with a happy sigh. She thought of his lopsided smirk, boyish – obnoxious – infuriating laugh, long fingers pulling her hood back, tugging her hair, encircling her wrist, always dragging her somewhere, hot against her cool skin.

'Beastboy…' Her eyes finally opened, burning with purple fire. 'Please kiss me.'

He was sure his imagination had run wild, but he was already leaning in.


End file.
